in all the Government have had to balance their desire to be as effective as possible in restoring confidence in Hong Kong against our ability to accept the individuals concerned for settlement in this country, should that ever be necessary.
The cornerstone of British policy towards Hong Kong is the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984. Under the Agreement, Hong Kong will have its own Government comprising Hong Kong people; the socialist system and socialist policies will not be imposed on Hong Kong from China; Hong Kong's capitalist system and way of life will continue, with all its human rights and freedoms, its laws and its legal system, its own freely convertible currency, its financial markets and its free port. Thus it is quite wrong to suggest that the British Government is turning the Hong Kong people over to a tyrannical regime with no legal protection of their rights or legal means of escape.
The Chinese leadership have consistently reaffirmed their commitment to the Joint Declaration: it is very much in China's interest to make the agreement work. China has a huge stake - both economic and political in the future success of Hong Kong. There is thus good reason to believe that the Chinese Government intend to honour their commitment.
You mention democracy. I enclose a copy of the statement which the Foreign Secretary made in the House of Commons on 16 February. The British Government believe that the proposals which emerged from the Basic Law Drafting Committee in Peking last month are a considerable improvement on the earlier position and that this outcome is one they can reasonably commend in Hong Kong as a basis for the future.
The introduction of 18 directly elected seats in the legislature in 1991 will mark an important step forward in the development of democracy in Hong Kong. Its significance should certainly not be underrated.
This decision is just two seats below the proposal put forward by the Hong Kong Executive and Legislative Councils (OMELCO) but substantially more than the ten seats which were originally envisaged in Hong Kong's 1988 White Paper. In return for this small concession, the Government have secured from the Chinese the improvements in the draft Basic law outlined in the statement. This will provide for a continuous upward slope in the development of democracy from 18 seats in 1991 to 30 seats in 2003, with the possibility that full direct elections could be introduced in 2007.
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